Working the Siebold Network: Kusumoto Ine and Western Learning in Nineteenth-Century Japan

Abstract

This article takes a fresh look at the life and work of Kusumoto Ine (1827–1903), one of the first women in Japan to practise Western medicine. While Ine's life is well known, serious historical studies have been hampered by a lack of evidence, and romanticised versions of her biography have loomed large. The present study focuses on the networks of men with whom she shared her life. Not only do the writings of these men provide evidence about her activities, but they also show how she was welcomed into their male, medical world. Ine's remarkable career was possible only through the support of these scholarly networks and patrons. The significance of Ine's activities in the Edo era highlights the fact that she was foremost a rangaku practitioner, rather than a pioneer of modern Western medicine.